Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 2 No. 96

2009-07-07 68:43 (Kristen) We went up to Wasega Beach today for the annual Sagara family picnic. It was cold, windy, and (by the end) rainy, but we still managed to have a great time. Liam likes to explore the length of the beach, running along and seeing what is around the next bend. Jamie enjoyed digging in the sand with John and Gary, and we all ate far too much. Before we left, Liam put some stones into a baggie and told John that they'd get more when they got to the beach. He was a little offput by the cold, having expected the beach to be warm, like in Mexico. Oops. He went for a walk with Michelle at one point, and picked up three rocks. He counted "1,3,4." Michelle corrected him gently, saying "1,2,3." Liam insisted that there were four. Again, Michelle pointed out that there were three. Liam drew himself up and indiginantly pointed to "1,3,4! No 2! No 2!" He'll be easy to correct later in life, I am sure. The children had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the beach, but stayed awake until we got home.

2009-07-08 44:43 (Kristen) The boys slept in until 9 and 10, respectively, this morning, and the adults weren't much better. I wish that there was more to say about today, but it really was a wash. The sun was bright, but we all just stayed inside, like zombies. The boys went out with John to the grocery store where John's entire conversation went "Don't be so loud, Jamie. Quieter, Liam. Stop running!" It sounds like it was challenging. There was no trouble in getting them to sleep in the end, and maybe a little less television tomorrow would be good.

2009-07-09 20:43 (Kristen) It was one of those days where plans kept falling through left, right, and centre. I had intended to get the boys out, but it just didn't work. We did manage to have lunch at Browning, which was good, but then we came back home to more of the same. We did get the kids to help a little with housework, but that was about it until 5, when we finally got to the playground for half an hour. We came back to my making dinner with the Anpanman curry that John bought in Japan (instant!), which the boys ate all of. John took them back to the playground in the evening, which will do wonders for their falling asleep tonight. Whew.

2009-07-10 23:47 (Kristen) We are amazed, on occasion, at how quickly Liam picks things up. It is in large part because he wants to very much to be able to do all the things that his cool older brother does: play video games, climb this or that, and a million other things. Sometimes Liam imitates us, which can be startling. Today, John told Liam, who has been fascinated with typing letters into Microsoft Word on John's computer, that it was time to leave to do something. Liam called out that he'd be there when he'd finished writing his email.

Umm...which one of us does he sound like?

I took the boys to Hakobune this morning, and was usprised to be reminded that Jamie had a makeup day today. That meant that he stayed at Hakobune from 10:20 (we arrived late) until 4. Jamie had not wanted to go at all, but was having such a good time that he didn't even get up to give me a hug, as he often does, when I picked Liam up after lunch. Hah. Liam and I wandered for a bit, went oto the Korean grocery store with John, where we bought snacks and lots of Anpanman cookies, and then went to his playdate at a local playground with Hiro-kun, his friend from Hakobune. His mom, Shiho, is very nice, and of an age with me. She doesn't speak a lot of English, so we speak mostly in Japanese, with me lapsing into English when I am at a loss (which happens frequently) for a word or phrase or idea. It's great practice for me, and I pick up a fair amount from context. I imagine that we both do! We stayed there until about 6:15, with Jamie joining us after John dropped him off after Hakobune. Liam fell asleep a minute before we got off the bus at Browning, and I frantically woke him up just before John came around the corner, cheered up a Papa-centric little boy, and saved the day. We had a good evening at Browning, where Liam make Tom show him Pingu videos on Youtube, and even a little Barney (?!?!?!?!). The boys fell asleep about three minutes after lights out, w00t.

2009-07-11 14:29 (Kristen) I'm a little behind in blogging, but I'll do my best to remember things from the day. I do know that the boys went to the market with John for quite a long while, which was nice and peaceful for me, but not particularly full of anecdotes. Apparently the boys played at the park, and otherwise had a good time. In the evening, John took the boys to the playground, which was soon followed by a trip to the Dairy Queen. We were joined by Gary and the group from Browning, and the boys had a marvellous time with everyone. It was very late when we got home, and the boys went straight to bed.

2009-07-12 14:29 (Kristen) Today we cleaned the house, in large part thanks to Trifina making a much-needed, and long anticiaped, visit to clean our house. The house is beautifully clean now, and Jamie was a big help in putting things away. Liam was not so into the cleaning up, and pitched a big fit about it. Eventually he put away two toys, which felt like an achievement for both of us. In the evening, as we were putting the boys to bed, we heard a number of closely sounded reports, and John went off to investigate. He phoned, and told me to bring the boys out to the next intersection, where a neighbour had set off a truly large number of fireworks in honour of his son's first birthday. The entire neighbourhood came out to watch, and Liam was particularly excited. Jamie was a little less into it, as he was very sleepy, but still the boys were happy to have seen it. They fell asleep a little late, but it was worth it.

2009-07-13 22:53 (Kristen) For the last two Mondays, a boy and his mom have been doing pretty much the same thing that Jamie and I have been doing: sitting in Starbucks, he plays DS while she works, both waiting for their youngest to finish up at Hakobune. Last week, we introduced ourselves, and I suggested that Jamie and her son (who is about 9) shuold play DS together, as we're all doing the same thing. Her son seemed cool, in that "sure, whatever" way young boys have, but he was much more animated when they arrived today, a little after we did. He did his homework (he goes to a different Japanese school than Jamie, but still...) and then bounded over for an hour of excited DS playing with Jamie. The boys had a great time, and Sanderu (? I must check spelling) even came with us for our pizza lunch! He was very patient with Jamie, and Jamie is just good enough to be a fun gaming partner. I foresee a good friendship, or at least regular companionship, based entirely on video games, by the end of the summer (I hope!). We picked up Liam and brought a sleepy boy (he woke up before 7:30 this morning; unsure what time, exactly...) home. Jake came over for a playdate, which we may do more of as his family is moving houses within the neighbourhood over the next few weeks. They'll be two blocks over on our street, which will be very useful. His mom and I are already joking about we'll be standing in front of our houses, sending kids back and forth. Dinner was at Browning, and Liam was so tired that he almost fell asleep on Tom's lap while watching Pingu on the computer. It was an early night, needless to say, and the boys fell asleep quickly after some Anpanman video.

* For the benefit of Scrabble players, words that are not in the Scrabble dictionary are marked with an asterisk.

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